“The Occupation”

…and Other Fairy Tales

Stephen A. Berger, M.D.Tel Aviv Medical Center

Oc·cu·pa·tion Pronunciation: ”a-ky&-'pA-sh&nFunction: nounEtymology: Middle English occupacioun, from Middle French occupation, from Latin occupation-, occupatio, from occupareDate: 14th century

3: the holding and control of an area by a foreign military force

c : the military force occupying a country or the policies carried out by it

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary

This map represents 3,000 years of history !

Some people find this very complex and boring …and would prefer to sum it all up in two statements:

“Israel illegally occupies Palestine.”

“This is the core of the Mideast conflict”

These countries have two things in common

Belgium

Canada

China

England

France

India

Indonesia

Philippines

Russian Federation

Sri Lanka

Spain

Turkey

United States

The Occupier of …---------- Flanders

---------- Quebec

---------- Tibet - Moslem Regions

---------- Northern Ireland - Gibraltar- Falklands -

Scotland

---------- Corsica - Alsace - French Polynesia

---------- Kashmir - Sikh Punjab

---------- Irian Jaya

---------- Mindanao

---------- Chechnya - Kuril Islands

---------- Tamil Nadu

---------- Basque Region

---------- Kurdistan

---------- Puerto Rico - Okinawa

Second:

They are all guilty of ‘occupation’ !

First:

They all accuse Israel of ‘occupation’ !pro·jec·tion Pronunciation: pr&-'jek-sh&n:

5: the attribution of one's own ideas, feelings, or attitudes to other people or to objects; especially : the externalization of blame, guilt, or responsibility as a defense against anxiety Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary

hy·poc·ri·sy Pronunciation: hi-'pa-kr&-sE also hI-Function: nounInflected Form(s): plural -siesEtymology: Middle English ypocrisie, from Old French,

from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Greek hypokrisis act of

playing a part on the stage, hypocrisy, from hypokrinesthai to answer, act on the stage, from hypo- + krinein to decide

Date: 13th century

a : feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary

“We are the only people in the world who remain under occupation”

- Yassir Arafat

para·noidPronunciation: 'par-&-"noid

Function: adjectiveDate: 1904

2 : characterized by suspiciousness, persecutory trends, or megalomania

- Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Middle Eastern fairy tales

There is a country named ‘palestine’

Israel occupies Arab lands

This occupation is illegal

This occupation is the “heart of” the Mideast Conflict

This occupation is brutal

Fairy Tale number 1: “Palestine”

The term ‘Palestine’ was coined by Roman occupiers to describe the area on this map. It is just that - an area. During the entire history of the planet, there has never been a country named, ‘Palestine.’

A Jewish country named Israel existed1,000 years before the invention of ‘Palestine’ - and 1,500 years before thefirst Moslem was born !

The land area known as ‘Palestinewas repeatedly occupied: by Romans,Mongols, Crusaders, Ottomans andEnglishmen. Even when Moslems ruledthe area, they never saw fit to create a country named ‘Palestine.’ Jerusalemwas just another backwater town to them

Following World War One, The League of Nations gave Britain a mandate to govern ‘palestine’. Although the Sinai desert was not included in the mandate, the Britishalso managed this area - and inpractical terms, the Sinai never really‘belonged’ to Egypt.

Sinai

In 1923, Britain unilaterallycarved out 70% of Palestineto create a racially-pureJew-free state - later named“Jordan.” There is no historicalbasis for Jordan and it continuesto occupy most of ‘Palestine.”

Amazingly, both Britain and Jordan insist that Israel occupies ‘Palestine.’ This would be the equivalent of a United States claim that Canada occupies North America !!

* note: Before removal from ‘palestine’ Jordan was referred to as ‘Transjordan’

T h e C o u n c i l o f t h e L e a g u e o f N a t i o n sW h e r e a s t h e P r i n c i p a l A l l i e d P o w e r s h a v e a g r e e d , f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f g i v i n g e f f e c t t o t h e p r o v i s io n s o f A r t i c l e 2 2o f t h e C o v e n a n t o f t h e L e a g u e o f N a t io n s , t o e n t r u s t t o a M a n d a t o r y s e l e c t e d b y t h e s a i d P o w e r s t h ea d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e t e r r i t o r y o f P a le s t i n e , w h i c h f o r m e r l y b e l o n g e d t o t h e T u r k i s h E m p i r e , w i t h in s u c hb o u n d a r i e s a s m a y b e f i x e d b y t h e m ; a n dW h e r e a s t h e P r i n c ip a l A l l i e d P o w e r s h a v e a l s o a g r e e d t h a t t h e M a n d a t o r y s h o u l d b e r e s p o n s i b le f o r p u t t i n g i n t oe f f e c t t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o r i g i n a l l y m a d e o n N o v e m b e r 2 n d , 1 9 1 7 , b y t h e G o v e r n m e n t o f H i s B r it a n n ic M a je s t y , a n d

a d o p t e d b y t h e s a i d P o w e r s , i n f a v o u r o f t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t i n P a l e s t i n e o f an a t i o n a l h o m e f o r t h e J e w i s h p e o p l e , i t b e i n g c l e a r l y u n d e r s t o o d t h a t n o t h i n g s h o u ldb e d o n e w h i c h m i g h t p r e j u d i c e t h e c i v i l a n d r e l i g i o u s r i g h t s o f e x i s t i n g n o n - J e w i s h c o m m u n i t i e s i n P a l e s t i n e , o rt h e r i g h t s a n d p o l i t i c a l s t a t u s e n j o y e d b y J e w s i n a n y o t h e r c o u n t r y ; a n d

W h e r e a s r e c o g n i t i o n h a s t h e r e b y b e e n g i v e n t o t h e h i s t o r i c a lc o n n e c t i o n o f t h e J e w i s h p e o p l e w i t h P a l e s t i n e a n d t o t h eg r o u n d s f o r r e c o n s t i t u t i n g t h e i r n a t i o n a l h o m e i n t h a t c o u n t r y ; a n dW h e r e a s t h e P r i n c i p a l A l l i e d P o w e r s h a v e s e l e c t e d H i s B r i t a n n i c M a j e s t y a s t h e M a n d a t o r y f o r P a l e s t i n e ; a n dW h e r e a s t h e m a n d a t e i n r e s p e c t o f P a l e s t i n e h a s b e e n f o r m u l a t e d in t h e f o l l o w i n g t e r m s a n d s u b m i t t e d t o t h eC o u n c i l o f t h e L e a g u e f o r a p p r o v a l ; a n dA r t i c l e 2 .

T h e M a n d a t o r y s h a l l b e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r p l a c i n g t h e c o u n t r yu n d e r s u c h p o l i t ic a l , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d e c o n o m i c c o n d i t i o n s a sw i l l s e c u r e t h e e s t a b l is h m e n t o f t h e J e w i s h n a t i o n a l h o m e , a s l a idd o w n in t h e p r e a m b l e , a n d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s e l f - g o v e r n i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s , a n d a l s o f o r s a f e g u a r d i n g t h e c i v i la n d r e l i g i o u s r i g h t s o f a l l t h e i n h a b i t a n t s o f P a le s t i n e , i r r e s p e c t i v e o f r a c e a n d r e l i g i o n .A r t i c l e 5 .

T h e M a n d a t o r y s h a l l b e r e s p o n s i b le f o r s e e i n g t h a t n o P a l e s t i n et e r r i t o r y s h a l l b e c e d e d o r l e a s e d t o , o r i n a n y w a y p l a c e d u n d e rt h e c o n t r o l o f , t h e G o v e r n m e n t o f a n y f o r e i g n P o w e r .A r t i c l e 6 .

T h e A d m in i s t r a t i o n o f P a l e s t i n e , w h i l e e n s u r i n g t h a t t h e r i g h t sa n d p o s i t i o n o f o t h e r s e c t i o n s o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n a r e n o tp r e j u d i c e d , s h a l l f a c i l i t a t e J e w i s h i m m i g r a t i o n u n d e r s u i t a b l ec o n d i t i o n s a n d s h a l l e n c o u r a g e , i n c o - o p e r a t io n w i t h t h e J e w i s ha g e n c y . r e f e r r e d t o i n A r t i c l e 4 , c l o s e s e t t l e m e n t b y J e w s , o n t h ela n d , i n c l u d i n g S t a t e l a n d s a n d w a s t e l a n d s n o t r e q u i r e d f o r p u b l i c p u r p o s e s .A r t i c l e 7 .T h e A d m in i s t r a t i o n o f P a l e s t i n e s h a ll b e r e s p o n s i b le f o r e n a c t i n g a n a t i o n a l i t y l a w . T h e r e s h a l l b e i n c l u d e d i n t h i s

l a w p r o v i s i o n s f r a m e d s o a s t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f P a l e s t i n i a nc i t i z e n s h i p b y J e w s w h o t a k e u p t h e i r p e r m a n e n t r e s i d e n c e i nP a l e s t i n e .A r t i c l e 1 1 .T h e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n m a y a r r a n g e w i t h t h e J e w is h a g e n c y m e n t io n e d i n A r t i c l e 4 t o c o n s t r u c t o r o p e r a t e , u p o n f a i ra n d e q u i t a b l e t e r m s , a n y p u b l i c w o r k s , s e r v i c e s a n d u t i l i t i e s , a n d t o d e v e l o p a n y o f t h e n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s o f t h ec o u n t r y , i n s o f a r a s t h e s e m a t t e r s a r e n o t d i r e c t l y u n d e r t a k e n b y t h e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .A r t i c l e 1 5 .N o d i s c r i m i n a t i o n o f a n y k i n d s h a l l b e m a d e b e t w e e n t h e i n h a b i t a n t s o f P a l e s t i n e o n t h e g r o u n d o f r a c e , r e l i g io no r l a n g u a g e . N o p e r s o n s h a l l b e e x c l u d e d f r o m P a l e s t i n e o n t h e s o l e g r o u n d o f h i s r e l i g i o u s b e l ie f .A r t i c l e 2 2 .E n g l i s h , A r a b i c a n d H e b r e w s h a l l b e t h e o f f i c ia l l a n g u a g e s o f P a l e s t i n e . A n y s t a t e m e n t o r i n s c r i p t i o n i n A r a b i co n s t a m p s o r m o n e y i n P a l e s t i n e s h a l l b e r e p e a t e d i n H e b r e w , a n d a n y s t a t e m e n t o r i n s c r i p t i o n i n H e b r e w s h a l lb e r e p e a t e d in A r a b i c

This is an abbreviated version of the Mandate given to Britain over Palestine

Note the emphasis placed on encouragement of Jewishsettlement and Jewish rights in the Land [in red].

Also note that the British had no right to carve up the land orinvent new fictional countries - to the exclusion of Jews

...and so, having given away70% of Palestine to inventJordan, the British now proceeded to chop out yet another portionof Palestine - this time to the French. In 1923, the Golan Heights were given over to thejurisdiction of French-ruledSyria.

Only a few decades later,Syria demands the ‘return’ ofthe Golan - their “ancient and eternal homeland” [!!??]

The Council of the League of NationsWhereas the Principal Allied Powers have agreed, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article 22 ofthe Covenant of the League of Nations, to entrust to a Mandatory selected by the said Powers the administration ofthe territory of Palestine, which formerly belonged to the Turkish Empire, within such boundaries as may be fixedby them; andWhereas the Principal Allied Powers have also agreed that the Mandatory should be responsible for putting intoeffect the declaration originally made on November 2nd, 1917, by the Government of His Britannic Majesty, andadopted by the said Powers, in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, itbeing clearly understood that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existingnon-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country ; andWhereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and tothe grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country; andWhereas the Principal Allied Powers have selected His Britannic Majesty as the Mandatory for Palestine; andWhereas the mandate in respect of Palestine has been formulated in the following terms and submitted to theCouncil of the League for approval; andArticle 2.The Mandatory shall be responsible for placing the country under such political, administrative and economicconditions as will secure the establishment of the Jewish national home, as laid down in the preamble, and thedevelopment of self -governing institutions, and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all theinhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion.Article 5.The Mandatory shall be responsible for seeing that no Palestine territory shall beceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of, the Government ofany foreign Power.Article 6.The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population arenot prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operationwith the Jewish agency. referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews, on the land, including State lands andwaste lands not required for public purposes.Article 7.The Administration of Palestine shall be responsible for enacting a nationality law. There shall be included in thislaw provisions framed so as to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up theirpermanent residence in Palestine.Article 11.The Administration may arrange with the Jewish agency mentioned in Article 4 to construct or operate, upon fairand equitable terms, any public works, services and utilities, and to develop any of the natural resources of thecountry, in so far as these matters are not directly undertaken by the Administration.Article 15.

Is there anything in the words, “no Palestine territory shall be ceded...” that I don’t understand ?!?!?

...25 years and one Holocaust later, theUnited Nations offered the Jews an even smaller portion of ‘Palestine’ [in yellow]

The Jews accepted ... and the Arab countries unanimously rejected the proposal(General Assembly 181) and opted for war.

Fifty years, 5 wars and scores of thousands of casualties later, they suddenly inundateour TV screens with cries of, “WE ACCEPT 181 !!”

In the first of these 5 wars, whichended in 1948, the Arabs captured Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria [The West Bank] and the Gaza strip.

‘West Bank’

Jerusalem

GazaSummary to 1948: Palestinians - not yet invented Palestine - not yet invented

Illegal Occupation by Arabs: Jordan West Bank Jerusalem Gaza Golan Heights

Illegal occupation by Jews: 0

‘West Bank’

Jerusalem

Gaza

Question:What is it about the words,“West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza” that sounds so familiar ?Answer:These are the precise areaswhich the Arabs now claim tobe ‘Palestine.’

Question:But .. then why didn’t the Arabs declare this to bePalestine after they occupiedthe territories in 1948 ?

Answer:

Ah Hah !!

Amazing ... but true:

From 1948 to 1967.....

The Arabs occupied all of the territories which they claim to be ‘Palestine. But they never even considered forming Palestine.

The people who fancy themselves ‘palestinians’ lived in these areas. But they never made any attempt to form Palestine.

The Palestine Liberation Organization was formed in 1964. They held it all in 1964 - so just what are they trying to liberate ?

There was not a single Jewish ‘settlement’ in these areas. So why did the Arabs carry out a 20-year reign of war and terror?

There was no Jewish ‘occupation’ - not a single inch. So how can they claim that the ‘occupation is the heart of the problem’ ??

And so [at a time that theArabs held all of what theycall ‘Palestine’ .. and at atime that there was no occupation]they started yet another war ofannihilation against the Jews

In June 1967, we Israelis once again fought and won a defensive war ... a war of survival - this time re-gaining control of Jerusalem and ‘the West Bank’ [illegally occupied by Jordan]; Gaza [illegally occupied by Egypt]; and the Golan Heights [illegally occupied by Syria since 1923.]

Golan

‘West Bank’

Jerusalem

Gaza

Note that these territorieshad been taken illegally andoccupied by Jordan, Egypt andSyria - and had originally beenheld by Britain and intended forJewish settlement.

Fairy Tale number 2 : There is an “occupation”

As we’ve seen, the areas under dispute were returned to Israeli control after a period of illegal occupation by Jordan, Egypt and Syria. There is and never has been an “Israeli occupation” - only Disputed Territories.

Fairy Tale number 3: The “occupation” is illegal.

One might expect the diplomatic world to spend its time with more pressing issues than the legal standing of a ‘non-occupation.’

The ‘law’ generally invoked to denounce Israel’s presence in these disputed territories is United Nations Resolution 242.

The Security Council,

Expressing its continuing concern with the grave situation in the Middle East,

Emphasizing the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and the need to work for a just and lasting peace in which every State in the area can live in security,

Emphasizing further that all Member States in their acceptance of the Charter of the United Nations haveundertaken a commitment to act in accordance with Article 2 of the Charter,

1.Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in theMiddle East which should include the application of both the following principles:

Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territoriesfrom territories occupied in the recent conflict; Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of thesovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and theirright to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force;

2.Affirms further the necessity For guaranteeing freedom of navigation through international waterways in the area; For achieving a just settlement of the refugee problem; For guaranteeing the territorial inviolability and political independence of every State in the area, through measures including the establishment of demilitarized zones;

3.Requests the Secretary General to designate a Special Representative to proceed to the Middle East toestablish and maintain contacts with the States concerned in order to promote agreement and assist efforts to achieve a peaceful and accepted settlement in accordance with the provisions and principles in this resolution;

4.Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the progress of the efforts of the SpecialRepresentative as soon as possible.

The most common word in 242 is ... ‘The’ The most significant word-omission in 242 is.... ‘The.’ 242 clearly requires... “Withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories....” Read my lips: “from territories.”

NOT the territories. NOT all of the territories !

There is no shortage of ink at the United Nations - the addition of one more, ‘the’ would have taken only a-second-or-so !This is Resolution 242

The word “The” appears thirty-seven (!) times - accounting for 13.1% of the document.

When 242 was written in 1967, there were no such things as ‘Palestine,’ a ‘Palestinian homeland’ ... or even ‘Palestinians’ ! The “States” referred to in this document are Israel, Syria, Egypt and Jordan. In other words, 242 is totally irrelevant to the palestinian conflict. A nonexistent ‘State’ named ‘Palestine’ has absolutely no claim on the areas discussed in 242!

A key word that you won’t find in 242 is, “Jerusalem.”

Anyone who demands that Jerusalem must be “returned in accordance with 242”

is obviously lying !

Another key word in 242 is, “States” - appearingfive times in the document !

About the ‘occupied territories”

All of the parties and territories discussed in 242 are outlined in this map.

Note there is no reference to ‘palestine’ - because there has never been such a place.

In 1979, Israel gave the Sinai to Egypt - thus fulfilling the territorial demands of 242. The Sinai is larger than all of Israel, and comprised over 90% of all disputed territory. Additional territory was later given to Jordan; and Jordan / Egypt renounced all claim to Jerusalem / Gaza, respectively.

Israel has completely fulfilled her obligations under 242. There is no reason to give more land away to countries which threaten her existence [Syria] or to terrorist organizations which are totally irrelevant to the conflict [palestinians].

Golan

‘West Bank’

Jerusalem

Gaza

Fairy Tale number 5: The “occupation” is brutal

“In 1948…the population…was subjected to the systematic oppression and brutality of an inhuman occupation that robbed them of all their rights and liberties…under a unique combination of military occupation…..and systematic oppression. Rarely has the human mind devised such varied, diverse and comprehensive means of wholesale brutalization and persecution” - Hanan Ashwari

Aside from the fact that Mrs. Ashwari dates the ‘occupation’ from1948 (ie, the very existence of Israel is “occupation”), she hasapparently led a rather sheltered life. Surely the ‘human mind’ hasdevised acts of brutalization and persecution far worse than herparanoid fantasy.

Which brings us to………………..

0

500

1000

1500

2000

1967 1991

A Few Examples of Israeli Brutality

PalestinansEgyptJordanTunisiaTurkey

Per capita GNP in U.S. $

0102030405060

7080

1967 2000

Life Expectancy in Years

Palestinians

Mideast & NorthAfrica

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1968 2000

Infant Mortality (per 1,000 live births)

PalestiniansSyriaJordanEgyptIraq

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1995

Illiteracy Rates (% over age 15)

Palestinians

Syria

Tunisia

Egypt

Morocco

Universities: 0 in 1967; 7 (16,500 students) in 1995

0

20

40

60

80

100

1967 1986

Palestinian Living Standards (%)

electric / gasrangerunning water

24 hr electricity

Fairy Tale number 6: The “occupation” is the heart of the Mideast conflict

This is AMAZING nonsense !

Aside from the fact that the Arabs started most of their wars before the ‘occupation’ ...

Aside from the fact that the Arabs never created ‘Palestine’ - when they already had everything ...

Aside from the fact that most Arabs openly support the complete elimination of Israel....

All of the following happened BEFORE THE OCCUPATION EXISTED

Arab anti-Semitism institutionalized (Syria in 1840).

Continual 150-year string of pogroms against Jews in all Arab countries.

Arab pogroms conducted under Ottoman rule throughout the Middle East.

Arabs massacre Jews under the British Mandate in 1929, 1933, 1936 and 1948.

Arab leaders cooperate and even participate actively in the Holocaust.

Unending Arab terrorist raids against Jewish civilians during 1948 to 1967.

Expulsion of 540,000 Jews from Arab countries before 1967.

etc............

Question: So what is the “heart of the problem” ?

Answer: Arabs oppose the presence of a Jewish State in the Middle East !

This little speck is … “The Occupation”